Remember (Stories Before the Rebellion)
by ConstanceFinnigan
Summary: Planet Marto has found peace after years of oppression, division, and genocide. The human dimension traveler who brought this peace has built the tech-city "New Mobius," a symbol of hope for the Mobian people. But war always returns and a 7 year old blue hedgehog kid is preparing to defend his city. (A Concept Retelling/Serial Novelization)
1. The Day They Built The Wall Part 1

1| The Day They Built the Wall

The techcarts were putting up a wall.

Two blue Mobian hedgehogs stood at the city line, watching the techcarts drill metal sheets into the walkway cement. The whoosh and punch of screw blasters reverberated down the long line of slowly rising sheets, dividing Mobius from the forest beyond and the rest of planet Marto with it.

They both knew the first shot had been fired.

"They can't do that." the small hedgehog snapped, his green eyes blazing. He was only seven years old, but he was tall, if not a little round at the stomach, and his blue head spikes had grown out thick behind him. "Whadda they think they're up to?"

"This is...not what I expected." the older one said to himself. He was full grown, tall and well-built, his spikes a darker shade of blue than those of the young one next to him. He was robed in a wine red cape and the band of the Heartseat's personal guard circled his brow.

The small one's gaze darted over the walls. "They can't do that," he said again.

People built walls to keep stuff from getting in…and from getting out. Walls got in the way of things, and he didn't like it.

"Does Heartseat Nikolos want this, Uncle Sparks?" the hedgehog turned and looked up at his uncle, crossing his arms.

"It's all right, Sonic. Stay quiet and I'll see what's going on." Sparks said. He strode forward and whipped back his cape—a sure sign that he was not pleased.

Sonic followed, arms still crossed and head cocked. "You mean he hasn't asked you or the Mobius council?"

"Quiet, Sonic," Sparks leaned over and rapped out a rhythm on the gray window of a techcart.

Sonic frowned. If they needed a wall, their Heartseat was supposed to tell them about it, but had he done that? Nope. He'd just gone a built a wall. And Uncle Sparks had always told him how important it was that rulers and people talk. That's the whole reason New Mobius had been built-

The techcart window rolled down to reveal a speaker system. "Who is this?" The techcart asked in an automated woman's voice.

"Commander Sparks speaking," Sparks said, furrowing his brow.

"Commander Sparks. Please do not step any further as there is dangerous construction underway. All Mobians must stay confined to New Mobius at this time. How can I help you?"

Sonic piped up, pushing up on his feet and fisting his hands. "You can start off, can-head, by knocking down the wall! That's our forest-"

"Unidentified voice." A light flashed from the lens built into the speaker.

Sparks shot his nephew a sharp look.

Sonic looked down at a crack in the cement sidewalk and scuffed his toe against it, feigning nonchalance.

 _C'mon. Someone had had to say it._

"Signing off," the recording device chirped.

"Override," Commander Sparks said. "He is my nephew."

The device remained silent for a second, processing this new information. "Signing off."

"Override," Sparks whipped his hand over the speaker's control panel. He popped it open with a flick of his wrist, revealing the inner working of the techcart. He snatched a silver, raw wire in his hand, and narrowed his steely blue eyes in concentration. A series of flashes sprung from his fingers. The whole structure of the techcart shuddered in response.

Sonic lifted his head and jumped forward, gaze riveted to his uncle's hands.

Static and slurred beeps sputtered out of the speaker. It replayed a recording of a man's voice—a man every Mobian knew well—their guide, their first Heartseat, Dr. Ivo Nikolos. "Initiate Speech recognition. Go to the edge of the Mobius boundary sidewalk and complete downloaded task ASecurity 101…" The recorder fizzled out again.

"Hmm." Sparks bit his lip. He waited a second, then released the wire. A black char tainted the silver wire where he had gripped it, leaving an imprint of his fingers.

The window slid up.

The techcart rolled on to complete its task.

Sonic mouthed a "wow", grinning.

"Apparently this _is_ what Doctor Nikolos wants," Sparks murmured. "ASecurity 101…"

"That was _sweet._ " Sonic burst out, eyes bright with fascination. "Was it illegal?"

Sparks smirked to himself—that secretive, knowing smirk. "Was what illegal?"

"What you just did, of course," Sonic reminded, his eyes shining with sauce, a smirk tugging at his own mouth as well. " _You sparked it_."

Sparks hid his amusement. He looked up at the skyline of New Mobius, a jigsaw puzzle of cement, tubing and glass. Thin streams of blue smoke wisped up from bottle-sized chimneys only to disappear into the clear sky. "I have my reasons. It's my job to protect this place. And everyone in it."

Sparks turned to face Sonic. He leaned over and grasped him by the shoulders. "Speaking of which, what was that stunt you pulled? Taunting a techcart, Sonic, I'm surprised at you."

Sonic crossed his arms and huffed, "I'm sorry, Uncle Sparks, I didn't know it'd go all wacko on me with the lights and try to sign off like that. It's just-" his eyes blazed and he frowned hard, "Just I don't like this, it doesn't feel right and they can't do it. You won't let them cut off Mobius from the rest of Marto, will you?"

"I'm sure they'll put in a gate." Sparks raised his eyebrows. "Doctor Nikolos must be installing a city wall for security reasons. But that's not the point. The point is, Sonic, you have to trust me to handle these things when I say I can handle them. If you go barging in, you're going to get others and yourself hurt. I may know something you don't."

Sonic faced his uncle dead on. "But-"

Sparks frowned at him.

Sonic's resolve wavered for a second, but he didn't drop his gaze.

 _…_ _Uncle Sparks wouldn't just let bad stuff happen._

Sonic replied, his voice steady, "Yes, Commander."

Sparks ran a hand through Sonic's head spikes and ruffled them. "It's hard, but you can do hard."

Sonic grinned. He tossed his head and started up the nearest steps. "You bet."

Life was hard. And fun too, of course, but it was still hard. His short seven years of life had already taught him that. He had been born after the war, but he saw the effects of it every day. In the shrapnel that he sometimes stepped on and had to pull out of his feet. Or how they sometimes had to wear gloves that protected their hands from the hazardous fluids that shot through the tubes of the New Mobius factories. How he had to pretend to be normal or else…

…Something might try to kill his family.

He didn't know what the something was, but he did know that when people died, you couldn't be with them anymore, and he didn't like that.

That is why he needed to know how to protect people. Because he wasn't really normal, even if he had decided to hide it and pretend he was. Uncle Sparks was a gifted Mobian, and so was he. But Sonic had a different gift than Uncle Sparks, and he had to use that gift to make sure nothing bad happened. He had to be able to do hard. He'd never been in a war yet, but someday he would be. It could be any day and it could start with anything.

He didn't like that wall.

Why would Heartseat Nikolos do that?

Sonic stopped in mid-step and looked over his shoulder. "I got a question though."

"Do you?" Sparks said, gaze fixed ahead.

"Question, Commander?" Sonic retried.

"Proceed," Sparks said with a soft grin.

Sonic pinched his lips a little. Uncle Sparks was one person he tried really hard not to tick off. "Well…you always say that a warrior has to trust his leader, and that's why I need to trust you and—and, yeah, I get that all the way," Sonic pushed up on his toes. "So…I guess your leader is Doctor Nikolos…but back at the techcart…I mean, if a leader is doing something that might be bad, what do we…?" Sonic let his words trail off.

Uncle Sparks stared at him. The spikes at the back of Uncle Spark's head pricked up and his eyes narrowed. He hadn't expected Sonic to think that far or that fast. He floundered for the proper response, gritting his teeth.

His nephew was picking up on something far bigger than both of them.

Sonic waited, his face upturned and green eyes wide. He looked so young still.

A sad smile bent the corners of Uncle Sparks mouth. It was not fair.

And yet, it had to be. Sonic was not born to live in peace, and Sparks could not afford to make the mistake of dismissing him because of his age…and leaving him unready. He must treat Sonic with respect and that meant evaluating Sonic's abilities based his character, not his age. The two were often related, but not always. He'd apprenticed Sonic for the past two years now and he knew his nephew enough to trust him with an appropriate level of responsibility and even danger… But, if things went badly really fast, even if Sonic did not mean to, there was always the chance someone could make him talk.

Sparks' silence said it all and Sonic got it.

Sonic's eyebrows drew together in thought. He glanced back at the rising wall.

"Sonic…you must not tell anyone what I did back there," Uncle Sparks said, trying to keep his tone gentle. "Promise me."

Sonic nodded.

"Well," Sparks stretched, changing the subject at once. "Well, well, well. I see we've lost our running track—for the day at least."

Sonic blew out a long sigh. "Well, I can't run in the city."

Sparks stretched his hands, sending a quick shock of electricity up his neck and shoulders to release some of the tension. "We'll work something out so you can run somewhere," he assured. He scratched his headspikes. "But in the meanwhile…I've been thinking."

Sonic whipped around in a flash, anticipation gleaming in his eyes. "Y-you were thinking what?"

Sparks rubbed his chin, pleased. "Well, I was going to save it for your birthday…but this seems like the proper occasion and I just heard that they're finished…"

"Oh—oh—oh boy," Sonic struggled to control himself, fisting and re-fisting his hands. His eyes widened. "Um-A blaster?"

Sparks shook his head. "No, not a blaster."

"Aw," Sonic deflated.

"I think you may just like these better. And if you don't, your Mom certainly will." He winked.

"Is it related to my training?" Sonic asked, walking backwards up the stairs.

Sparks raised his chin and marched up after him. "I won't tell you anything else about them. Follow me."

"That's a yes!" Sonic fist pumped. "Can I eat it?" he bounced after his Uncle. "Have you hidden it at your pad?"

Sparks smirked. "We're going to Doctor Nikolos's tech lab."

Sonic caught his breath.

 **Author's Notes: (Previous)**

Thanks for stopping by and reading! By now you have probably picked up on the fact that this story doesn't exist within one of the Sonic canons. ;-) This series is a Novelization/Retelling based off of Sonic's _**concept**_. There are references to some of the canons that have inspired this story (Satam, AdventuresoStH, Sonic Boom, Archie comics) hidden throughout the story, but the story world and backstories are original. Some characters (Sparks—who looks like Sonic Light Mobius, by the way) are original too, and the canon characters personalities have been tweaked. If retellings suite your taste, I hope you enjoy!

This particular episode is a prequel episode to Series 1 AND Series 0 of this whole retelling realm, "Rebels of the Mobian Restoration." More info on my page. When Episode 1 of Series 1 is uploaded, I will add the link here. s/12072676/1/Episode-1-Rupture-Rebels-of-the-Mobian-Restoration

Thank you, everyone! :-D

His grace is sufficient for me,

His power is perfected in my weakness,

Constance/Connie

P.S. One word of warning to all the passionate shippers out there! This story has a Sonally theme, but I haven't totally slammed or ditched Amy Rose either… ;-]

 **Update 12/4/2017,**

Heads up, the format of this series has more or less changed now. This collection will still appear in an episode format, but there is no longer a Series 0 and a Series 1. ;-) It's all just different volumes of the same series. Also, there are ALOT more bonus scenes now! Hopefully they won't be too slow or anything. Thanks for stopping by!


	2. The Day They Built The Wall Part 2

The Heartseat's Tech lab. The One and Only Heartseat's Tech Lab. The brainstorming and engineering grounds of all of the tech that Doctor Nikolos had brought to New Mobius.

It was always neat being Uncle Spark's nephew, but this was one of those times when Sonic just really felt like something else. Not just anybody could just waltz into the Heartseat's Tech Lab next to Commander Sparks.

The sheet metal walkway felt cold beneath his bare feet. They stood at the end of a copper-banded tunnel, probably a mile underground. The tunnel opened into a high ceiling lit with bright white lamps hanging from the black roof. The light reflected off of myriads of blinking metal knobs and glass panels from the machinery crammed into the room.

Sonic dipped his head back, grinning so that his cheeks hurt. He could never run in a place like this. He'd break something. He saw some cranes though—those would be fun to climb. Maybe Uncle Sparks would have something to do while he was here and then he could really check this place out.

Sonic started walking toward something that looked like a hybrid crossbow and laser blaster, but Sparks took his arm and guided him to a line of orange tape. "We'll follow this path," Sparks said. "I'll take you on the tour later."

Sonic shrugged. "This place is _crazy_."

"And it's only the first floor," Sparks said.

"It's got more?" Sonic questioned, raising his eyebrows.

"You bet." Sparks followed the tape around a corner to a sheet metal cubical covered in orange tarp. "Dickon! Anyone present?"

The tarp whipped aside as a blur of orange shot out of the cubicle atop a rolling chair. Sonic jumped in surprise. It was a grinning Mobian fox with a shock of blonde hair and green eyes. He was decked in elbow and knee safety pads and a scorched apron, its pockets stuffed with screwdrivers, wrenches and laser knives. He wore a pair of brown goggles on his forehead and steel-tipped hiking shoes with metal grooves on his feet. They clicked on the cement floor when Dickon leapt off the chair and extended his gloved hand to Sparks. "Commando!" His white-tipped tail swirled around him.

Sparks snatched ahold of his hand and thwacked the fox on the back. "Hello, Dickon. I assume everything is in order?"

Dickon nodded, scratching behind his ear. "Sure thing, sure thing, operations are going just swell—Miles has started helping out around the place, you know, it's been neat having him on the job-" Dickon stopped, noticing Sonic, "Well! Is this the squirt you're always talking about? The one with the moxie?" Dickon dropped down into a crouch, winked and took Sonic's hand. "Sonic, right?"

Sonic decided he liked Dickon—even if he had just called him a "squirt." "Yep, that's me."

"Not afraid to look me in the eye, I like that," Dickon grinned. "Happy Birthday!"

Sonic frowned, confused. "Um…"

"Actually, it's not his birthday," Sparks hissed, the corner of his mouth tweaking in amusement. "I decided this was the right time."

"Oh," Dickon laughed. A nice carefree laugh. He stood up.

"This is Dickon, Dr. Nikolos' head techmaster," Sparks told Sonic.

"You're the head tech master?" Sonic asked, eyes wide. He stared at Dickon with a fresh respect.

"Uh oh, what have you heard about me?" Dickon elbowed Sparks in the ribs. "Have you been telling him stories, Commando?"

Sparks hung his head and shook it to himself, hiding his smile. He planted his hands on his waist. "Sonic, don't let him fool you. He's a genius and he's only invented half of everything in this room—with Dr. Nikolos inventing the other half—and for all that, he has natural people skills. Until the clock strikes eight pm that is, and then its zombie mode."

Dickon guffawed and swiped a hand at Sparks. "Oh, go on, Sparks is the real big wig around here." He stepped back into the cubicle, dragging the chair with him. "Well, I'm afraid my time's short, but not short enough that I can't do a little favor for your uncle. No peeking back here. What's your favorite color, kiddo?"

Sonic replied back instantly. "Red."

"Red?" Dickon stuck his head out for a second, his goggles pulled down over his eyes. "Huh. Why red?"

"'Cause it's the color of courage," Sonic said, crossing his arms.

"Bet I can guess who told you that," Dickon smirked at Sparks. "Hold on a minute."

Sonic waited to hear a mini explosion or the whirr of gears or the hiss of electrical circuits, but there was nothing. The silence just made the anticipation worse.

He bit the inside cheek of his mouth, all jitters inside. He dashed around to the other side of his uncle, "What's taking him so long?" he hissed.

Sparks just stared ahead, grinning to himself.

Sonic crossed and uncrossed his feet, tapping out a rhythm, "Uncle Sparks, c'mon, I'm gonna explode-is it a silent blaster?" he hissed.

"Already told you it's not a blaster." Sparks said shortly.

"Haha!" Dickon wheeled back out of the cubicle, his back to them. "Are you ready? It may not look like much at first."

"Oh, oh, yeah, I'm ready alright!" Sonic leapt forward, forcing his hands behind his back

Dickon clicked his shoes down to the ground and spun himself around. On his lap lay a pair of shoes—simple red sneakers with a white stripe across and gold buckles on the sides.

"Catch!" Dicken tossed them to Sonic.

"Huh!" Sonic caught them in both hands and turned them around. They looked normal enough, but Uncle Sparks wouldn't give him normal shoes—especially normal shoes made by the head techmaster of New Mobius. He shot a look back at Uncle Sparks. "Do they have rockets in them?"

Sparks shook his head, eyes wide with amusement. "No."

Dickon watched Sonic investigate the shoes, grinning. "Want me to spill the beans?"

Sonic weighed the glory of guessing the secret himself versus knowing it right away…and chose the latter. "Sure."

Dickon put the tips of his fingers together. "Sparks told me that you have a special…talent…and that talent makes it pretty hard for any shoes you do wear to stay in one piece for very long. And that's a real problem here in New Mobius, with all the metal shards and hazardous materials left over from the war lying all over the place. If you really want to concentrate on where you're going—say if you are out for a jog—you don't want to have to worry about what you might step on…especially when you're going fast." Dickon winked.

The head techmaster knew about his gift? Sonic grinned and he leaned forward.

"Problem solved. Those there," Dickon motioned to the shoes. "Deflect friction. Friction-proof, while still retaining traction."

Sonic wasn't quite sure what that meant, but it sounded good. "Um-"

"You won't burn them out in a week. Or a year. My hope is that they won't burn out your entire life." Dickon said.

"You can go fast in these, Sonic," Uncle Sparks said, hands clasped behind his back. "Faster than you have ever able been able to go before."

Sonic's eyes lit up.

He dropped to the ground at once and pulled the shoes on. "Oh, man, Uncle Sparks—you think so? Boy, let's go try 'em out-I'm gonna try these out right now—" Sonic yanked the white straps through the buckles. He looked up at Dickon, who leaned back in his chair, biting his lower lip in pleasure. Sonic shot him a thumbs up as he climbed to his feet. "Thanks a lot, Mister! Wow, these are just super keen. You must be pretty smart. How'd you do it?"

"The physics is insane," Dickon rested his chin on his fist. "But I love physics. I was studying the connection between friction and entropy and Sparks asked if I could do him a favor in my spare time."

"Wow," Sonic said once again. He planted the sturdy flat soles of the shoes on the ground. Resolute. Capable. Ready. He scuffed them against the ground and grinned at how they bent with his foot while still retaining their grip on the floor. Perfect for a push off. And they were red.

He looked at Uncle Sparks and his eyes shone.

"Level eight is open, for your information," Dickon whipped a grease smeared passcard from his pocket. "He needs a good place to try those out, you know."

Sparks took the passcard and winked. "Thanks, Dickon."

Dickon saluted.

Sonic held out his hand to Dickon. "Thanks again."

Dickon took it and shook it soundly. "Don't mention it, soldier."


	3. The Day They Built The Wall Part 3

Sonic took a deep breath, letting himself feel the air flowing in and out of his lungs. He stared at the track before him, the thrill of challenge shooting adrenaline through his body. He barely dropped down to one knee, planting his new red sneakers firmly against the cement floor, glaring dead ahead—and then he pushed off.

He didn't turn on the juice at first. He stretched his legs out in front of him and sprinted to the base of a giant loop—there'd never been loops in the forest—just as he reached the base of the incline, his vision tunneled and something in his gut gave a tremendous push. A rocket blast sort of push. Then the pressure of the air pressed in, deafening and hard like a sheet of water he had to push through and he did push through it—again and again and again. The next thing he knew was that he had run upside down for the first time, around a loop, and he felt like he was flying. He could barely even feel his feet touching the ground.

The world was a blur around him, but not such a blur that he didn't know where he was. Every detail of his surroundings flashed at him in milliseconds and somehow his brain took that information and translated it down to his feet in an instant. He did not know how fast he was running—he had never run this fast before—but he loved it and he pushed harder, up around another loop, around the right angle curve, up the sloping wall, shot off the seesaw before his weight could kick in, and more loops—he loved the loops. Whenever he reached the very top, for one split second his senses snapped an image of the base of the loop about fifty feet right below him. And then down he'd swoop and a tickle ran up his stomach.

He shouted at the top of his lungs, throwing his hands out into the wall of air he constantly charged through, the force whipping his hands back and slowing him down, but he didn't care.

" _Hey,_ _Uncle Sparks! They work!_ "

Sparks sat against a climbing rock wall and smiled, listening to the whoosh of his nephew's blur and the delayed shouts of triumph that lingered in the dust of Sonic's wake. Sparks could barely follow Sonic with his eyes. He'd never been quite this fast before, and Sparks was certain he could go faster. But it wasn't just the increased speed Sparks wanted to draw out of the Sonic—it was increased concentration and manipulation of the speed. Sparks glanced at a snaking line of vertical poles, a foot of space between each one. It would take all of Sonic's focus to weave through those. This was the perfect place.

Level Eight had been designed for testing the agility of combots, the Heartseat's pun name for his combat robots. In that sense Level Eight was an official military obstacle course —a clockwork puzzle of loops, ramps, sudden turns, climbing towers, jumping pads, trapeze, bars, wheels, trapdoors—a room of challenge.

Sonic loved a challenge. The minute they'd walked into the room, Sparks hadn't even tried to tell Sonic where he was. He just said: "Run up that loop and keep going."

Sparks liked to think that Sonic took after him. He also liked challenges. It had been quite some time since he had found something to push his sparking abilities since becoming Commander. All he used them for now were jumpstarting dead batteries and hacking into robot databases. Back when he was in the militia, he had powered his own custom electronblaster…

Not that he'd want to have to use that thing again.

Sometimes he wondered if he had done the right thing in mentoring Sonic….in training him how to use his gifts so that he could fight in battle. Full scale, bloody, bitter battle. Battle for their planet, their people, their city of New Mobius. Where all his innocence would die, where he would taste loss, where he would take blows and scars and bleed and, perhaps, die himself. Cold, alone, and quick. Or worse, long. Snuffed out from the world, to pass on to the next.

Sparks took a long deep sigh, trying to bury the images.

And at that moment, Sonic whipped across a spiraling walkway and jumped up for a swinging ladder. He missed and slammed into the opposing wall with a grunt. He hit the ground.

Stillness and silence reigned for a whole two seconds.

Sparks waited to see if Sonic was injured.

He doubted it.

Sonic sat up, a little cross-eyed, then swung onto his feet. He stepped back, shoving his fists onto his hips. He twisted his mouth into a scowl and narrowed his eyes at the wall. Then he lunged at it and half-ran, half-pushed off it with his sneakers. He caught the last rung of the ladder. He swung by both arms, then pulled himself up the rest of the way.

Sparks allowed himself to smirk. _Not easy to kill._

Of course he was doing the right thing.

Sonic whipped his legs back and forth so that the ladder swung. He twisted around and kicked the wall with the toe of his sneaker. "Pushover!" His voice rang with sarcasm.

Sparks rolled his eyes and suppressed a grin.

If walls didn't kill Sonic, the attitude might.

The communication panel built into Spark's arm brace buzzed. He straightened at once.

"Commander Sparks?" It was Dr. Nikolos.

He flinched involuntarily. "This is Commander Sparks, sire."

"I want a word with you. I'm in the sanctuary."

"I will be there in ten minutes," Sparks said. An electric shot whipped down his spine and he gnashed his teeth together. Calm down.

"Thank you, Sparks…" the soft voice drifted away and the wrist speaker buzzed off.

Sparks stood up. "Sonic!"

His nephew had just skidded to a stop after shooting around another loop. He jumped into a flip and landed on both feet. He tapped one sneaker against the concrete at machine gun pace, anxious to get going again. "Yeah?" He caught himself. "Commander?"

Sparks stepped over. "Heartseat Nikolos just called me up. He needs me."

Sonic stopped tapping. He looked back over his shoulder at a funnel shaped spiral cone, fisting his hands. He hesitated. "Can—can we come back tomorrow?"

Sparks grinned. "I don't see why not. After all I'll have to show you how to run this thing the _correct_ way."

Sonic's ears perked back up and he snorted. "Okie-dokie." He hissed to himself. "Patience test."

Sparks laughed and pulled him off the ramp. "Yep, patience test." He wound his arm around Sonic's shoulders and pulled him into his side. "You're learning fast."

"I do everything fast," Sonic lifted his chin a little, and raised his eyebrows.

Sparks gave him a teasing cuff at the back of the head. He'd save the speech on the humility test for later. Sonic grinned, then without any warning threw his arms around Spark's middle.

Sparks paused. Sonic buried his head against Spark's side, squeezing tight. "It was super neat running those loops, Uncle Sparks. Thanks for the shoes and everything."

Sparks felt a warmth come to his face. He smiled down at Sonic and rubbed his hand down his head spikes. "You're welcome, Sonic."

Sonic lifted his head up. "I mean it too. It's all just real cool. The shoes, and level eight—and I'm still mad about the forest, but you're going to get that squared away with Dr. Nikolos, right?"

Sparks just smiled to himself. "I'm glad you like them."


	4. The Day They Built The Wall Part 4

"Heartseat Nikolos, sir," Sparks bowed his head in greeting.

The bulk in the seat before him rose to his feet with a grunt. "Commander Sparks, always so formal."

A naked, human hand extended to Spark's gloved, Mobian fist, and shook it.

Sparks looked up into the face of Heartseat Nikolos, first human leader and founder of New Mobius. He stood almost eye level with the doctor's height of roughly five feet. Sparks gathered from all he had heard and seen of other humans that Doctor Nikolos was a small man, but that did not prevent the people of New Mobius from respecting him any less.

He was bald and very overweight—also two features that not all humans shared. Other than that, his human form was much like a Mobian's, with two arms, two legs, a symmetrical face, except of course, he had no fur. His eyes were also smaller than a Mobian's, but he wore very large tinted spectacles concealing their shape and color.

Besides the fact that he was the only human on their planet, there was nothing else extraordinary in his appearance. But he was their first Heartseat, the one who had brought in the tech and protected their planet against the Dek invasions. The symbol of his station, a bronze ellipse was pinned to his red jacket, over his heart. Not ruler, not tyrant, but guide into a new era of equality for all.

They had put so much trust in him those seven years ago.

"Thank you for coming, Sparks," Nikolos said, his voice thick and congenial. "I hope you don't mind if I ask you why you hacked into one of my techcart databases down at the construction site?"

Nikolos was efficient. He never beat around the bush.

Sparks tried to ignore the electricity tingling throughout his body. He answered back, simply. "I was making certain that they were acting on your orders, sir. The last I knew the New Mobius Council and yourself had made no mention of embarking on a project of this magnitude." Sparks replied.

Nikolos nodded, as if pleased. He put his hands behind his back and turned himself about.

"As Commander I am in charge of the public safety and wanted to be certain everything was being carried out as it should be and there had not been a breach in command." Sparks finished.

Nikolos turned back to him, nodding. "Mmm. Thank you, Sparks. Most diligent of you."

"Sir…" Sparks asked. "May I ask what the nature of this wall will be? The public is a little alarmed at its construction. Are we under threat?"

Nikolos sat back down at his chair, a swiveling arm chair set before a glass and bronze desk. Though he preached equal accommodations for all, his own had grown more and more lavish over the last years.

"Sparks, we are under a threat of such a nature that it required immediate attention."

Sparks stared straight at the Heartseat, warring within himself. "Of…such a nature that…it did not require the council's approval?"

Nikolos sighed, "Unfortunately so…"

Sparks waited for further explanation. But none came.

"I would appreciate it if you not hack into another of my robots," Nikolos said. "Excessive volts of electricity is not good for any machine. If you have concerns about robot activity…come to me first. I designed them. I know how they work."

Commander Sparks dipped his head once. "Yes, sir."

Nikolos said. He sighed. "I am a busy man, but I'm never too busy to attend to my robots. Leave me now. I will be working with the Head Tech master for the next month during nights. Dickon. He will have to leave on a vacation out of the city—confidential business—and we need to work together all we can before he leaves." He smiled.

Sparks nodded. He had to say more. His conscience would not stand for anything otherwise.

"Yes, sir. Though…though I propose that you bring the matter of this wall before the council."

Nikolos raised his eyebrows. "Do you think so?"

"I strongly believe so, sir," Sparks said. "In my dealings with Old Mobia, people's lives were determined without their input or consent. I fought against that way of life. The will of the people is the crux of this new world order."

Nikolos tapped his fingers against the arms of his chair. "Sparks, don't worry," he chuckled, "I tried to bring it before the council last night, but none of the members were available. I had to proceed due to the delicate nature of this threat." He sighed. "Sparks…you know I believe passionately that all people should be equal…that everyone should have the same standard of living, the same level of work, the same opportunities-"

Sparks couldn't help but noticed the streamlined bronze walls of the Doctor's chambers, accented with red and glass fixtures. The place was certainly the most modern and elegant building in New Mobius. Compared to the apartments and the factory warehouse conditions.

"—I will do anything to see this world order prosper." Nikolos said, leaning forward. "And I know, so will you, Sparks. You are one of the faithful ones, there with me from the beginning. They tried to kill you for your gift, but I knew what it was. You are a very powerful animal."

Sparks raised an eyebrow. Technically Mobians weren't animals, they were all beings gifted with physical appearances and abilities patterned after animals. In ways, they were far more like the newly discovered humans than the common animals of Marto. Nikolos had never quite understood the distinction.

Dr. Nikolos laughed, his teeth flashing white against the red of his thick lips and tongue, "Don't worry about the wall—I'll take care of it. And while we're on the subject of public concern-you know, I still have plans to eliminate some of the complications the factory managers have brought to me. These things take time though." He shook a fist for emphasis. "Sometimes the transition period between oppression and perfection can be long and tough. But you'll make it." The Doctor smiled at him.

Sparks' ears drew back. He nodded once.


	5. The Day They Built The Wall Part 5

Sonic bounded up the rungs of the apartment ladder, two at a time, smirking from ear to ear. Because he was wearing _really snazzy shoes_.

Rich rhythmic strains of doo wop wafted from his family's apartment and Sonic grinned harder. His Mama must be letting Comet celebrate something. She usually didn't let him turn up the radio that loud.

He reached the last rung and flipped backwards, up and over, then curled into a roll just before he landed on the family deck.

He uncurled and the door exploded open, the doo wop released full volume for all the world to hear. A little blue hedgehog, almost an exact mirror image of Sonic stood in the doorway, his short headspikes pricking up and his large green eyes round.

He took one look at his older brother and opened his mouth. He charged.

"Sonic, you're back already, you're back already, I'm so happy to see you, guess what Sonic, Grampa Chuck is here! Grampa Chuck, it's Sonic!" he shouted at the top of his lungs.

Sonic caught his breath, stumbling back against the rails. He tried to shove the hedgehog off, feigning indifference. But he smirked.

The little hedgehog jumped free from Sonic and spun around, only to fling himself back into Sonic once again. He circled his arms around his waist and pushed his head against Sonic's stomach. "I missed you."

"Hey, Comet, Grampa Chuck brought stuff with sugar in it, didn't he?" Sonic's voice rang with hope. He tried peering into the door.

"It's called a doughnut an-and, and, and it's got a hole in the middle and it's so fluffy!" The little hedgehog, Comet, shouted, whipping his head up. His light green eyes widened and he quivered. "I ate two!"

"Hey there, Soni!" A warm voice called.

Sonic jerked his head up, his eyes bright. "Grampa Chuck?"

An elderly Mobian hedgehog strode out onto the deck, smiling behind his white-haired mustache. His spikes may've been a little more jagged and droopy and his blue fur may have been turning white, but his brown eyes were bright and alert.

Sonic stumbled across the deck to Grampa Chuck, Comet still hanging fast around his waist and dragging his feet. Sonic fell into his grandpa's open arms and squeezed tight.

Sonic really liked it when Grampa Chuck came. He really, really liked it.

Grampa Chuck ran his gloved hand across Sonic's forehead and down his spikes. He laughed. "You need to stop eating my chili dogs, you're getting way too tall!"

At the mention of food, Sonic looked Grampa Chuck in the face. "I heard you brought something fluffy to eat."

Grampa Chuck winked, then glanced down at Comet. "Oh, heard about that already, have you?"

Comet bowed his head, hiding behind Sonic's back spikes with laugh.

"Sure did, Gramps." Sonic crossed his arms and lifted his chin.

"I'll make sure you get one…or two…before I leave. When your mama gets back." He winked again.

Sonic knew that that meant he would have to wait with the rest of the family to eat it or else Comet would want another one too. He tapped his foot a little, but stopped himself from complaining. Only babies complained.

Comet bounced, sliding down Sonic's waist to his legs. He wrapped his arms around Grampa Chuck's legs too. "Look, Sonic, we're a big blue cactus!"

Grampa Chuck smiled in amusement. "I hope this cactus can walk!"

"Sure it can!" Sonic said, holding onto Grampa Chuck's arms. "Hold on tight, Comet. Now, Grampa Chuck, when I say one, you move your left foot back and I'll move my right foot forward, and then when I say two we move the other set of feet. Ready?"

"Oh—um, all right, Sonic, okay, just-" Grampa Chuck glanced behind him. "Just, um, be careful your old gramps doesn't fall."

"Pfft, I wouldn't let you fall," Sonic said, tossing his head. "Now, one, two, one, two, one, two..."

Comet held on as Sonic and Grampa Chuck scooted backwards through the doorway. Grampa Chuck leaned over Sonic's shoulder and shut the door as soon as they were safely inside. "Phew, we did it!"

"Wait, we're not done yet, right?" Comet asked, eyes large. "We could go over the whole house like this until Mama comes home!"

Sonic scooted down to pry Comet off of his legs. "Nah, we're good, Comet. Where is Mama, Grampa Chuck?"

"She needed to go to one of those nice fancy meetings for the ladies of New Mobius. I came along just in time to give her a break." Grampa Chuck settled down in a chair with a sigh of exertion.

Comet gasped. "Wow! Look, new shoes!" Comet finally freed his brother's waist and dropped to the ground to examine the shoes. His little black nose quivered as he sniffed it and he giggled. "They smell bad, but they look really cool—can I have them, Sonic?"

"Naw, these wouldn't fit you," Sonic said.

Comet sighed. "Yeah, they look kinda big." He jumped up to his feet. "Sonic! Sonic! Sonic! Sonic!" He bounced up and down in front of his brother.

"Cool it, kid." Sonic ordered, swiping a hand. "You gotta be chill to be a warrior, Comet."

"Sorry," Comet slapped his hands over his mouth. "Phonic. Can we gow phlay in the woophds now?" Comet scooted from one foot to the other.

A stab of anger shot through Sonic's eyes. He crossed his arms. "Nope, we _can't_. Wanna know why?"

Comet gasped, standing in place, still quivering with sugar.

"It's raining!" he blurted.

Sonic rolled his eyes.

They all knew that Comet was…different. Sonic had heard his parents talking about it. Sonic had been full of energy at Comet's age, but Comet was…he just didn't get things sometimes. And it wasn't just because he was trying to go fast and be like his big brother—(that's why he insisted on being called "Comet" instead of his legal name, 'cause if Sonic had a speedy nickname, he needed one too.)

He just didn't think…or see things.

Sonic knew it was his job to help him think about things as much as possible. He crossed his arms. "Nope, pixel brain. Do you hear it raining outside?"

Comet's eyes widened and he listened. "Heheh, um, no," his words sped up, "Oh! Oh! You did something bad an' Mama's mad n' since I can't gowithoutyouwe're all stuck here?"

Sonic raised his eyebrows. "Nope."

"I can't guess then!" Comet declared and made a stance as if he was about to dash off. Sonic jumped in the way just in time for Comet to knock into him.

"Wrong! This is serious stuff, Comet," Sonic said.

Comet's eyes widened in revelation. "We're under attack by Deks and you're going to get to fight them and I'll have to stay home and protect Uncle Chuck and Mama!" Comet cheered, erupting into a leap. He tried to run around Sonic.

Sonic caught him by the spikes, flipped him onto his back and sat on his stomach.

Comet whined and hissed, trying to curl into a ball and failing. He kicked his heels against the floor. "If you tickle me, I'll spike you!"

"You can't spike me," Sonic said. "And we can't go out to the woods because Mr. Robot-Nikolos is building a big wall around the whole city and its official construction sorta stuff and he's got robots that won't let anyone go out. I ran around the whole city and-," he shot a quick look at Grampa Chuck, "Not _running_ running, just plain running—so I ran around all of New Mobius and I didn't see a single place for a door or a gate or anything!"

"A wall, eh?" Grampa Chuck took a seat on a stuffed chair, surprise striking across his face. "Well this could certainly make things interesting for when I try to return home tonight." Comet frowned. "When will they take it down?"

"I don't know," Sonic said with a huff.

"That meanie-head!" Comet blurted.

"Yeah, he's a sneaky ol' human!" Sonic crossed his arms.

"Yeah, that sneaker creeper!" Comet added.

"Yeah, and a double-faced excuse of a leader!" Sonic added

"Yeah, and a double-headed excuse of a ladder!"

"I think that's enough, boys," Gramps said, his voice soft. He cleared his throat and looked away.

Sonic opened his mouth, then shut it again. "Well, yeah, you all know how bad he is anyway…." He almost stopped there, but his eyes lit up again. "And the worst part is he acts like he's so good, but, boy, Gramps, I tell ya, he takes his sweet time! He's been telling Pops he'd fix the factory safety for years, and Pops says it's never gonna happen—he's too busy building walls and more schmancy robots!" Sonic crossed his arms and tossed his head with a crooked frown.

Comet wriggled free from beneath Sonic. "I'm gonna stop him!" he shouted, fisting his hand in the air, obviously parroting the phrase from his older brother. He raced into the kitchen, trying to look as fast and brave as he could. A loud thunk soon followed.

Grampa Chuck winced.

"The table's okay!" Comet shouted from the kitchen. He came racing out with paper and a pencil. Comet half dropped, half tripped to the floor on top of the paper and began sketching something as fast as he could.

Sonic turned round and sauntered over to Grampa Chuck's chair. He sat down on the floor in front of him and began stretching out his legs, a concentrated glare on his face.

"Keeping up with your warrior-training, Soni?"

"Sure am! Uncle Sparks says I gotta stretch every day so I don't break somethin' when I run."

"Ah, yes, Sparks...is he still teaching you to be a fighter?" Grampa Chuck asked, his eyes inquisitive and soft…concerned.

"Oh, yeah, you shoulda seen the place we went today, Grampa Chuck!" Sonic shouted, grinning again and flinging his hands out. "It was like a maze and had loops and wheels and bars and things and I ran all over it."

"It's Doctor Robot-Nikolos!" Comet blurted, holding up his sketch for all to see.

The four-year old's art skills were extraordinary for his age. It was the only thing that calmed him down and he never ceased to shock his family with his work.

But this time, he had drawn an egg. A simple, plain, normal egg.

Sonic raised one eyebrow and snorted a laugh. Grampa Chuck made an effort. "Well…well done, Comet!"

"The Doctor is a human, Comet," Sonic smirked.

"Not here!" Comet blurted, flapping the picture. "He's an egg. 'Cause he looks like one—ooh!" He flung down the picture, his eyes growing huge. "This one's my favorite, Grampa Chunk!" Comet ran over the radio and turned it up, stepping fluidly into the rhythm of the song. It was that fun new one.

 _Well it's one for the money, two for the show_

 _Three to get ready, now go cat go…!_

Sonic grinned.

"C'mon, Gramps!" Sonic shouted, jumping to his feet and stepping in time with Comet.

Grampa Chuck pulled himself up, his eyes bright with fun. He eased as well as he could into the beat, bouncing next to Sonic. "Just for a little bit, boys. My, these newfangled American songs just get catchier and catchier!" He smiled.

They all danced. Sonic began to snap and whistle in time to the music. And for a little while, forgot all about walls that shouldn't be there, and all the things that could come and fight him someday.

 _…_ _You can do anything but lay off of my blue suede shoes…!_

 **Update, 12/4/2017** These next scenes are completely new and very bonus. XD For those who read the last draft, you'll probably notice several scenes are missing, but don't worry, those scenes still happen-just later on in the story than I original wrote them.

Also, you get to meet very uncanon Comet here! XD Quick story behind him...so, I first "met" Sonic when I was babysitting two girls. Believe it or not, I'd never heard of Sonic before then. O_O I knew nothing. So, these girls introduced me to him and we liked to act the characters out...only one of the girls acted out Sonic at first. I secretly wanted to try acting him out too, so I created Comet as Sonic's little brother and "my secret version of Sonic." Later on, she started acting out Tails and asked me to act out Sonic himself, but for those first few months, Comet was actually my main character. And since I knew nothing about Sonic, I played around with him a lot and gave him ADHD. In this scene, he doesn't have Sonic's speed, but in the stories I acted out, he did, so that was fun. XD Once I saw fanart of Modern Sonic and Classic Sonic interacting, I realized the concept of an older Sonic and a younger Sonic being family still kind of worked, so I kept Comet in this story. Those who have read Rupture probably remember what Grampa Chuck recalled happening to him...I will say no more. ;-)


	6. The Day They Built The Wall Part 6

Two hours later and the radio still played in the background, though they had turned it down a couple notches. Sonic lay on his back with his legs leaning straight up against the wall, book in hands.

They'd goofed off dancing through a couple more songs and then Comet had gotten distracted and they started playing with their model blasters, and that ended in a wrestling match. By that time Grampa Chuck was pooped, so Comet decided that he wanted to show Grampa Chuck how "fast he could go," so he brought out The Wheel. It was like a huge tin can suspended in air on an axle and you could get inside it and run in continuous circles and if you hung onto the sides, you flipped around and around. After they'd played with that one for quite some time, Comet got an idea, so he got his sketch pad and started trying to explain to Sonic what he'd seen in his head, but that idea led to another one and another one—and then Comet was hooked. That left Sonic with no one to play with, so that meant it was time to get a book.

Sonic swapped his feet, eyes riveted to the page, his mouth slightly ajar.

Without warning, he rolled to the side and swiveled up into a sitting position, his jaw clenched in indignation. "Man!"

Grampa Chuck raised his head from where he sat on the cushioned chair, going in and out of a doze. "Something wrong, Soni?"

"Yeah!" Sonic snapped out. "Uncle Sparks gave me this book-!"

"Which one," Grampa Chuck squinted, amused.

Sonic held it forward with both hands, cover out.

Grampa Chuck blinked. He shook his head. "I haven't seen that one before."

"Uncle Sparks wrote it for me," Sonic said. "But he changed the ending again and I don't like it one bit. Before he had it where the good guys stay good, but in this one, they go bad. I _hate_ that!"

Grampa Chuck raised an eyebrow. "Sounds sober to say the least. Ah, that Sparks…a kid your age shouldn't have to read stuff like that."

"I don't get them," Sonic put the book down on the ground in front of him and poked his finger at it. "Why'd anyone _do_ that? Their own leader is killing them all and no one is doing anything about it. They just lay in the dust of it all an' hope not to get hit. And Uncle Sparks always told me it's a man's job to protect his family, but these guys don't care when their wives and kids get blasted to smithereens. All they care about is themselves and they're _cowards_." Sonic jutted his chin, crossing his arms. " _I'd_ never do that. I'm gonna talk to Uncle Sparks about this one."

Grampa Chuck stared for a second. His ears twitched. "Sonic…why…do you think Uncle Sparks wanted you to read that?"

"I dunno," Sonic shrugged. "But I like the way the story went before. The good guys acted like good guys are supposed to."

Grampa Chuck leaned forward, a glimmer in his eye. "Hmm…well here's another question…why do you like the good guys instead of the bad guys? I mean…the bad guys are still just as powerful, aren't they?"

Sonic frowned. "Yeah, but… _they're bad_."

There was a moment of silence. Sonic pinched his lips together, staring at the wall.

"And they always lose," Sonic said. "Good guys win, bad guys lose."

Once again, Grampa Chuck smiled sadly. "Yes…it is written into the fabric of existence. The good guys win…in the end."

Sonic stared down at the book. "Uncle Sparks says stuff like this still happens though."

He looked up, his green eyes wide and for a few seconds, Grampa Chuck saw the prick of fear in them…of understanding beyond his idealized dream. "I never want that to happen to you guys."

Grampa Chuck bit his lip.

They were good words. But they shouldn't have had to come from a seven year old.

Grampa Chuck allowed himself a quick smile. "I'm glad you think that way, Soni… but don't worry, not all of life is like that, all the fighting and oppression, that's just one part of it. But there's people you love and sunrises and things growing up out of the ground, there's playing—"

Sonic glared. "Let the other kids play, Grampa Chuck. Someone's gotta do something when someone's gotta do something." He crossed his arms over his knees and stared at the cover of his book "And I've got Speed."

Grampa Chuck paused for a second, letting this heated declaration stew in the room. He grunted to himself and shrugged. "Ah…Well, Soni…You come by it honestly. I've always loved peace—loved it enough to fight for it." He crossed his arms. "That was awhile back though. Your parents and Uncle Sparks, though, those young whippersnappers just don't know how to settle. Sparks was always gallivanting off with these universal militias, at the front line of every major battle in the war, and in his spare time experimenting with the tech. Meanwhile Jules was running around in the forest of Mobia with a band of ruffians, stealing from the tyrannical elders of Old Mobia and blowing things up and kidnapping your mother-"

Sonic caught himself in surprise. "Kidnapping mom?"

"Haven't heard that one yet? Oh, yes, several times. They were madly in love. I know near the end, she would leave notes to him asking him to kidnap her," He rolled his eyes. "And your mother, well…" he cleared his throat. "…let's just say she had the planet on her shoulders. And she bore it like a lady of Mobia."

Sonic cocked his head, smirking.

Sonic wished his parents would tell him more about their adventures in the war. Uncle Sparks always told him stories, but he'd never heard his mother share anything from the past. His father told bits and pieces and made up stories, but sometimes his mother would ask him to stop right in the middle. It drove Sonic up a wall.

"So…yes, you come by it honestly," Grampa Chuck's bright eyes sparkled and Sonic could tell his was thinking. "You know…I don't suppose Sparks would care to tell you—he never cared for the cast system of Old Mobia—you know what the old Cast Title of the Hedgehog specie line was?"

Sonic shook his head.

"Guardian." Grampa Chuck said. "There were other species under that cast title as well, but not many. Now the Guardians are separate from Warriors. The Warriors are the felines, reptiles and canines mostly—a much more generic and populated Cast Title. Guardians were very set apart. We were personal servants of the royal family, often given the responsibilities of certain people or objects to protect. Nowadays no one, even in Old Mobia under the new reign, is forced to take up a way of life because of their specie…but nevertheless, they gave hedgehogs that title for a reason."

Sonic leaned back on his arms, smirking. "I like that. Did you have to guard for the king?"

"Yes, I did. There were many hedgehog lords that did the true guarding. Your mother came from one of those high families. As for me, I liked food and I was from a much more…humble family line, and thus more dispensable. So I guarded the king's life by testing all his food for poison before he ate it." He chuckled to himself. "There were quite a few people trying to kill him back then, though. Still, it didn't give me much of a chance to actually spike anyone."

"Cool," Sonic said, watching his Gramps, his eyes bright. "What else?"

Gramps leaned back in the chair. "That's…about it…"

"I mean, about Pops and mama," Sonic said. "And the Guardians and the king and the war and stuff? What happened? I know Doctor Nikolos saved us from the Deks when he brought the tech with him from earth and Uncle Sparks fought with him—but what about—"

"You finish your book, Soni," Grampa Chuck smiled. "There's nothing else much to tell…"

Besides, Sonic had enough weight on his young mind already.


	7. The Day They Built The Wall Part 7

_Oh, life could be a dream_

 _Sh-boom, if I could take you up to paradise up above_

 _Sh-boom, you'd tell me, darling, I'm the only one that'cha love_

 _Life could be a dream, sweetheart_

 _Hello, hello again, sh-boom and hopin' we'll meet again, boom, Ba-boom—_

The radio crooned on from its place on the mantel piece, mingling with the rise and fall of voices in the sitting room.

Sparks, as he usually did, had dropped into the family's apartment for dinner. Commander though he was, most of his Mobian subordinates had several hours of leisure time in the evening. Since there had been no imminent threat to the city in seven years, he would not deny himself the same pleasure. He leaned back against the wall, his arms and ankles crossed, a smile stretched across his face. He watched his father and nephews. Grampa Chuck had pulled out his doughnut box and sat it on his lap, easing back into his sitting chair while Sonic and Comet watched, greedy glints in their eyes. Comet lunged forward and Sonic thrust his arm out.

"Hold it!" Sonic ordered, pulling his brother back up by the head spikes, his green eyes flashing. "This is a patience test, Comet, you gotta wait 'til Gramps is ready, see?"

Comet blew a raspberry-huff, but nodded. Then he dashed around to a swivel chair at the kitchen bar. He scrambled up onto it and began spinning himself around, singing in time to the music, "Day dong da ding-dong, Sha-lang-a-la-lang-a-la-lang-a-la-lang-a-la, Whoa, whoa, bip, Ah bib-de-ah-do-da-dip, whoooa! Life could be a dream, life could be a dream, sweetheart-"

"—So, I kept watching that movie reel from earth over and over again—just that one scene when they "fry" the doughnuts, and finally it hit me," Grampa Chuck snapped his finger. "It wasn't mashed bananas at all—it was bread dough!"

Across the room, Jules laughed and slapped his knee. He had returned from the factories and now slouched against the couch, a light beaming in his hazel eyes. He had to keep flicking his shock of brown hair out of his face back into his teal headspikes.

Sparks smiled at his younger brother.

Comet leapt from the still spinning chair and stumbled to the floor. "Daddy, can I have annuder doughnut now?" he hollered, scrambling over the back of the sofa.

Jules reached back and flipped Comet over his head onto his lap. "And start a Tornado?" Without warning, he began tickling Comet.

Comet yelped and rolled off of his Father's lap.

Sonic poked his head up around the corner of the couch. "I haven't had one yet, Pops!"

Jules leaned back and ruffled Sonic's head spikes. "Your mother would want you to drink your dinner first, then we'll have some," Jules finished. His voice was rich and mellow, with a twinge of flamboyance pricking its way into the endings of his words.

For a moment, Sonic's eyes lit up with struggle and he opened his mouth. Then he shut it, glancing at Sparks

Uncle Sparks nodded once, his eyes narrowed at Sonic.

Sonic pinched his lips. "Got it, Pops…"

Uncle Sparks' expression softened.

"—But she better stop being a slowmo and make it back here quick!" Sonic blurted out, then dove back behind the couch.

Uncle Sparks sighed and closed his eyes.

There were some lessons that would just take time. _Respect_ was one of them.

"How _is_ Aleena, Jules?" Grampa Chuck asked.

"Considering this is her third pregnancy," Jules said. "She's taking it better. At least, I'd like to think…"

In a blur, Sonic appeared next to Uncle Sparks. He stared up at his uncle, tapping his new shoes against the carpeted floor.

Sparks bent down next to Sonic, his ears pricked forward, zoning out the adults' conversation.

"So, how'd it go, Commander?" Sonic asked.

Uncle Sparks blinked for a second, pursing his lips in thought. He waited.

"You know. The wall," Sonic said, his eyes wide. "When's he gonna take it down?"

Uncle Sparks did not move for a second. He tried to hide a sigh, but failed.

Sonic's ears perked up and he clenched his fists. "Was he ticked off?"

"He was…disappointed," Uncle Sparks said. "He found out about the tech cart. I explained it to him and surely he'll…" he glanced away. "…understand in due time."

"He better," Sonic said, crossing his arms. He pinched his lips into a scowl. "That wall has to go."

And with that, the blue hedgehog turned on his heel and shot back across the room, over the couch and onto the barstool.

Sparks pushed himself back up to his feet with a heavy sigh.

"You really think Aleena would mind if we went ahead?" Grampa Chuck laughed, a twinkle in his eye. "I've always believe in eating dessert first anyway…"

Sonic and Comet both sat up straight in their seats, gripping the backs of their chairs.

"Ah, she'll kill me, father-" Jules said.

Sparks cleared his throat. He lifted his gaze to his little brother's.

"You're the man in this house, Jules. It's up to you," Sparks said. His tone was cool, but his eyes flashed.

Jules hesitated. Then shrugged in resignation.

Grampa Chuck opened the doughnut box.

"At last! We can eat again!" Comet screamed at the top of his lungs and jumped off of his chair.

Sonic pulled off his gloves, dropping them on the floor. He dashed to the box and peered inside.

The doughnuts lay stacked in the box, fluffy and round, like fat rings, covered in colored sugar.

Sonic snatched one up and stuffed it into his mouth, and his eyes widened. He started trying to push it all in at once, trying to lick his fingers and chew at the same time.

Grampa Chuck passed around the box.

"Mmm," Jules took a bite and he grinned. "Not bad, father."

Sparks sniffed the box and pulled out a doughnut. He took a quick bite and chewed, thinking. He took a second doughnut.

Grampa Chuck scooted forward to the edge of his seat. "The secret is deep frying. And sugar, of course."

Comet snatched up his and half-tripped, half-ran around the room, trailing crumbs after him as he ate. "Iph the best good thing in dah whohe worphld!"

Sonic had succeeded in stuffing his first doughnut into his mouth and his eyes glinted. The back of his brain was beginning to buzz.

Grampa Chuck laughed, "What do you think, Soni?"

Sonic swallowed and burst out, "Oph, man, I jusht wish it woulphdn't go away after I eat it." He snatched another doughnut, an involuntary purr rumbling in his chest. He sank his teeth into it, savoring pinpricks of sweet left by the sugar sprinkles.

Comet had been right. It was the fluffiest thing he had ever eaten.

"Very nice," Uncle Sparks admitted..

"I think we all deserve a treat every now and then," Grampa Chuck winked.

Comet reached out to grab his second, but Grampa Chuck winced, closing the box. "You already had two this morning, remember?"

"Wait?" Remorse filled Comet's eyes. He turned to Jules. "Daddy-"

"Only three total, Comet," Jules said.

"But I want another one!" Comet stamped his foot hard.

Jules ignored him and Sparks just cleared his throat.

Comet's face turned red and he wrinkled his nose. He whipped around. "Sonic!" he stammered, jumping forward, straight into Sonic.

"Hey, don't make me drop the food!" Sonic shouted, spraying crumbs and clutching his doughnut to his chest, squishing it in the process.

Comet flung himself against Sonic. "I want another one, Sonic! Can I have one, one, eensyweensylittleitsybitsybetsy bite."

"Get lost, Comet." Sonic crammed his second doughnut in his mouth.

Comet snatched onto Sonic's shoulder and pulled himself up onto Sonic's head, "Noooo!"

Sonic chewed as fast as he could. "Thewe, I ate iph awll!"

Sonic accidently let a hunk of chewed up crumb mush fall right out of his mouth onto the floor.

"No you didn't, Noyoudidn't!" Comet pounced on it and licked it up.

"Comet!" Grampa Chuck gasped.

Comet swung around, eyes wide with surprise. "It's better warm."

The front door slammed shut. "That is quite enough."

Everyone froze.

Sonic wiped the sugar crumbs from his mouth.

Aleena stood at the door way, composed and beautiful. Her dark blue gown fell around her wide hips and swollen stomach. She was about to give birth to her third child, but she still had a strength about her. Her rose-colored eyes burned sharp and regal, accented by her slanted eyes and thick, dark eyelashes.

Jules got up from his chair at once. "Aleena, please sit down."

Lady Aleena walked through the midst of her family and took Jules' seat carefully, adjusting her skirts and draping a sheer shawl over her up-turned, violet head spikes. "Thank you, Jules. Sir Charles, please put the sugar away. Comet, shut your mouth. And Sparks, don't look so smug."

Her voice was deep and mellow, but there was a sharpness to it that demanded attention and obedience. She always silenced every room she walked into.

Sparks cleared his throat. "Forgive me, Lady. It's simply that your presence never ceases to awe us all."

Aleena raised her long, thin eyebrows. She pursed her lips. "Hmm."

Comet got up and crawled into his mother's lap. He curled up.

Aleena lifted one small, thin, violet hand and extended it over Comet's head. She brushed back his head spikes in a soft, fluid motion.

"Mama," Comet whispered. "I want a doughnut."

"No," Aleena said.

The five males sat in silence and Grampa Chuck closed the lid on the doughnut box. Sparks pretended to cough into his fist. "Well…then…has everyone had a good day?"

"I sure did!" Sonic leapt up onto the floor, and spun around on his hands. He clicked his heels over his head. "I got new shoes."

Aleena looked Sonic up and down.

Sonic tapped out a rhythm on the floor, arms thrown wide. He held out one foot. "Aren't they sweet? Uncle Sparks got them for me."

"An essential part of his training." Uncle Sparks said, taking the doughnut box from Grampa Chuck.

"They're very nice," Aleena said, voice cold.

"They're friction proof," Sparks added.

"Truly…" Jules blinked, leaning forward to get a better look. "Extraordinary."

"Indeed. Dickon created them," Sparks said.

Aleena snorted at Dickon's name.

"I can go way faster in them," Sonic crossed his arms, rocking his weight onto one leg. He pointed the other foot.

"Just what we needed," Aleena murmured.

Jules shot her a look. "This is remarkable, Sonic." He sat back down next her and wrapped an arm around her back, massaging his hand into her tight shoulders.

Aleena's posture began to relax.

"Lemma show ya, huh, Pops?" Sonic said, his eyes getting bright.

"Can I do it too-?" Comet shouted, jumping off his stool.

Aleena turned her head and gazed at the wall.

Jules hesitated, glancing from Aleena to Sonic. He pinched his lips together.

"Twelve laps," he finally consented, grinning.

Sonic whipped Comet up into his arms and flipped him onto his back. "Hang on!" He pushed off, pulling in on his Speed, and off he went, circling around and around the sitting room chairs. He slowly increased momentum, sharpening his concentration.

Comet whooped and hollered behind him.

At the twelfth lap, Sonic pushed off the wall and skidded to a stop on his knees with a flourish. He flipped Comet back off onto his feet and bowed low to his audience.

Sparks, Grampa Chuck and Jules all clapped and cheered.

"Twelve laps in three seconds," Sparks reported.

Aleena just stared, head raised, her expression unreadable.

"Aleena…" Jules lilted, a singsong ring to his tone.

She looked at Jules from beneath her dark eyelashes. "Yes, Ju—?"

Jules leaned over and kissed her gently on the lips.

Sparks averted his gaze, and Grampa Chuck whistled.

"Oh, yipes!" Comet hid his head.

Sonic rolled his eyes. "Ah, C'mon Pops, not now!"

"That's my boy, Jules-" Chuck started.

But before he could finish, Aleena took Jules' free hand in a death grip, leaning into his kiss. Jules blinked in surprise, pinned against the back of the couch.

Grampa Chuck stopped mid-sentence and frowned, watching Aleena. Sparks lifted his gaze and stared as well.

"Yeesh," Sonic blurted, turning on his heel.

Aleena pulled back and her hands shook. "Forgive me," she smoothed her skirts, gathering her breath. "You all are waiting for dinner." She jumped back to her feet and strode to the kitchen bar.

Jules got up at once and followed her, his brow narrowed.

"Well. Anything else to report?" Sparks tried. He reached into the doughnut box and took his third. "Father? How was your day with the boys?"

Grampa Chuck grinned and nodded. "Fantastic. You all get such good quality on the radio here. New Mobius must be closer to the dimensional divide."

Sonic scooted next to Uncle Sparks, his eyes on the doughnut box. He smirked.

Sparks rolled his shoulders. He dropped the box down next to Sonic.

Sonic snatched up his third doughnut and whipped behind the couch before Comet could see.

"I had a good day, Uncle Sparks!" Comet belted out. "I got to listen to Blue Suede shoes I think—three times!"

At the kitchen bar, Aleena and Jules were whispering together with very intense expressions on their faces, but at this declaration, Aleena turned and glared at Grampa Chuck.

"It's a catchy one, isn't it, Aleena?" Grampa Chuck grinned, resting his chin on his elbow and avoiding her gaze.

"I would prefer for them not to listen to music that includes references to liquor," Aleena said.

"I just ignore that part, Mama!" Comet said, eyes wide.

Grampa Chuck cleared his throat. "Yes, and, you know Aleena, there's quite a difference between enjoying a nip and becoming drunk—there's nothing said in the honor-code against the first, but we all know a lack of self-control with anything is…"

Aleena strode across the room, hauled Sonic up from behind the couch, dumped him next to Comet and placed her hands on the tops of her sons' heads.

She lifted her chin at Grampa Chuck. "These two? No self control."

"I do too have sewf contwol," Sonic objected, spraying doughnut crumbs.

"Yeah, me too," Comet reached for Sonic's doughnut with a gasp.

"How many have you had?" Aleena asked, taking Comet's wrist and looking him in the eye.

"Uuuuh," Comet looked away, "Uuuuh…I—I ate one."

Aleena snorted.

"Liars are cowards, Comet," Sonic said, tossing his head. "That's what Uncle Sparks says."

Comet crossed his arms, hanging his large baby head.

"Sonic, I told you no more," Aleena spun to Sonic.

"He had three, I only had two, that'd be no fair-" Sonic started, his eyes flaring.

Aleena's eyes flashed and Sparks jumped in.

"It's true, Aleena, I'm sorry, I passed the third to him." He placed his hands behind his back.

Aleena gave Sparks a level glare. Both of them knew they didn't need a justice argument with Sonic right now.

"This once," Aleena hissed at Sonic, rising back to her feet.

"ButIwantanotherone!" Comet blurted in a squeak.

Aleena scooped up Comet and marched back to the kitchen bar. "I think it's time for you to drink your magnesium. You can have it with your dinner."

Comet went silent, but he did stick his tongue out a little.

With one hand Aleena snatched a glass from an upper shelf and dumped a thick white power into it with a spoon. She filled it with water from the facet and set Comet down in front of her on the counter.

"If you can't behave, it's time to go to bed. You're too old to beg."

Comet sighed as Aleena handed him the mixture. "Mama, can't we have real food tonight?"

"Be thankful for what you receive." Aleena quipped.

"But Grampa Chuck is here!" Comet begged. He spun around, glancing out the apartment window. "And, don't you think it'd be good to go outside together on the balc-"

"Drink your magnesium mixture," Aleena said. Comet consented sadly, sipping hard on his straw. He hardly ever slept unless he had his magnesium mixture to calm him down and by this stage in his life he knew better than to fight about it.

She turned to the kitchen bar and scooped up a tray with several tall glasses bubbling with blue liquid.

"She's right, Comet!" Grampa Chuck scooted forward in his chair, stretching. "This food is next to magic! We never had anything like it in the old days-"

"Well, we have it every day," Sonic said. "Blech."

Sparks shot Sonic a sharp look from across the room

Sonic pinched his mouth shut at once.

Nutrition capsules. Tiny pellets that Dr. Nikolos invented. You dropped then into water and they dissolved, releasing subtle flavors. After awhile they all tasted the same.

When Sonic was three he;d had his first chili dog at Grampa Chuck's home, on the edge of the woods. Grampa Chuck loved to experiment with foods the radio or Dr. Nikolos talked about—American foods. It had been the first batch of chili dogs Grampa Chuck had ever made, and Sonic had been the first Mobian to eat one.

Sonic could still remember how amazing it had been to experience biting into food. It had been warm and juicy, bursting with flavor, and he could actually chew it. Someday that was all he would eat.

"Dr. Nikolos' nutrition capsules are free and keep us alive," Aleena said, passing around the glasses. "When you can't grow your own food, you have to get it from someone else and this is all that is available."

"But Grampa Chuck makes food," Comet whispered loudly.

"The ground I live on isn't contaminated. It's safe to grow food in the woods." Grampa Chuck winked at Comet.

"I could just run over to your diner every night," Sonic said, looking pointedly at Aleena. "Once I got out of the city, it would only take me ten minutes and it'd be good practice—I could try to beat my time every night and we'd have chili dogs and burgers and fruit and slushies and nachos and everything all the time-"

Aleena glanced up at him. "Sonic, no."

Sonic crossed his arms. "C'mon, mama, it'd be out of the city—we should try it—"

"Be quiet and drink your food," Aleena said. She stared at Sonic as if she could shoot lasers from her eyes and melt him.

Sonic blinked at her, then glanced away.

He took a big swallow of the blue bubbling drink and made a face. It tasted like soap water. He wanted to gag on it and spit it out all over the table…but the last time he'd done that, Uncle Sparks had stopped training him for a whole week. He forced himself to swallow it.

Aleena sat down stiffly, her back straight and chin raised.

Jules watched her, concern in his eyes.

Sparks cleared his throat and took a sip from his glass.

Aleena turned her head to glare at Sparks. "You should be glad I let him run with you at all."

"I know, Aleena, I know," Sparks said.

"I never asked for a Gifted child," Aleena muttered to herself, her tone bitter.

Sonic wiped his mouth on his arm and whistled a little and pretending he didn't hear.

Aleena returned to the kitchen bar and pulled a sleepy, curled up Comet into her arms. She rubbed his back spikes, swaying from side to side gently, then turned the radio off. Comet buried his muzzle into her shoulder, his eyelids drooping.

"Sonic," Aleena hissed, turning to her eldest son. "You spilled lots of doughnut crumbs on the floor."

Sonic hesitated, glancing from Jules and Uncle Sparks to his mother. He snapped his fingers. "Yeah, guess I did. Okay, I'll take care of it!" He put on his speed and whipped to the parent's sleeping chamber and the broom closet, on the opposite side of the room.

"But Mama," Comet murmured, "Uncle Sparks says crumbs are bio…uh…bio-the-grate-ible and they give nu…new-tree-ints to the ground…so the floor needs all the crumbs it can get…"

"-they'll give a lot more nutrients to the _outdoor_ floor than the inside floor," Aleena said.

"That would have been a big deal a couple years back," Grampa Chuck noted, motioned to Sonic and winking at Jules.

"He's growing up," Jules said, yawning. He glanced over at Aleena, a pointed look in his gaze. "Sparks, apprenticing him was the best choice we ever made."

Aleena turned, still rocking Comet.

"Now as soon as Comet's concentration develops," Jules said. "I can start with him. I only hope I can do as well as you have with Sonic."

"Yay…" Comet murmured, almost conked out.

"I'm honored, Jules." Sparks said, staring down into his empty cup. But he too could not resist shooting a glance up at Aleena. "Sonic wants to do big things. I've never seen one so young try so hard."

Aleena took Comet's half-empty cup of magnesium formula and drank the rest herself.

I like to call this scene the Very Long Random Intro scene. XD I probably could never get away with publishing it, but its kind of a bonus scene and it introduces some important characters. So, I kept it. Kudos if you made it all the way through! ;-D


	8. The Day They Built The Wall Part 8

Aleena turned the apartment lights down low. Sparks, Jules and Grampa Chuck spoke in whispers around the sitting room. Aleena had already tucked Comet into his bunk and worked at the kitchen bar in silence.

Sonic sat cross-legged in the sitting room. He leaned back on his hands, his ears cocked, just listening to the sounds in the room and watching the soft shadows on the carpet. Every now and then, he pushed into a stretching position, but his movements were less sharp and his eyelids were beginning to droop.

He was sleepy and he was happy. The wall shouldn't be there and something was wrong with his Mama. But he had new shoes and Gramps was staying the night and he'd had doughnuts. And, on a subconscious level, he knew everyone that was supposed to be there was there and safe, and that made him happy too.

Aleena was just about to call him to bed as well when the apartment message screen flickered on.

Every home in New Mobius came with a message screen that linked to Dr. Nikolos' headquarters. The city used to receive messages from Dr. Nikolos every night, but over the last several years the communication had dropped.

The family jolted in surprise and Sonic's head shot up, concentration snapping back to life in his green eyes.

"Hello, beautiful city of New Mobius." Dr. Nikolos' face appeared in the screen.

The screen light flashed across the faces of the Mobians in the room, reflected in their large eyes. Sonic frowned, studying the human's spectacles and strange fur-less face.

Dr. Nikolos folded his hands. "Citizens, I apologize for interrupting you at this late hour! But rather late than never…" He chuckled. "I believe you all deserve an explanation for the wall that is being built around our city. I am sure you have noticed it, and I have received several concerns.

"Let me put those at ease. Yes, this wall construction is abrupt. I apologize for not giving you sooner warning…however, I'm asking you all to trust me in this…safety precaution. Yes…a threat has emerged against our city."

Sonic sat up straight.

Across the room at the kitchen bar, Aleena clung to the counter behind her with clenched fists, the blood draining from her face.

"I cannot lie and say this threat is not serious. However, the worst thing that can happen is for us to panic. I believe with the construction of this wall, we will be saved…if anything, our city may be the safest place on this planet once this wall in completed.

"We all know of the Deks that have terrorized your people for centuries." He licked his lips. "I have reason to believe they may make targeted, intense attacks on certain parts of the planet in the very near future."

Sparks frowned, narrowing his brow.

"Deks are unpredictable…as you all well know. I had hoped we would have a good five more years before they returned. But. Do not fear, New Mobius. You made the right choice when you swore to band together and uphold the beginnings of our free and modern society. You may be the first generation of Mobians that will not be called to war. You may be the first generation of Mobians that can, with your families, safe and unscathed.

"You see, this wall that I have created, is merely a series of beacons. When completed, these beacons will create a clear energy shield that will span across our entire city, like a roof, protecting us from the Dek's air raids. Your children will not be picked off of our streets and carried away. Your houses will not be burned by their fire whips and bombers. The shield will prevent them from getting within a mile of the highest building in our city.

Dr. Nikolos sighed.

"I…will say no more of this. Only…accept my apology for moving without consulting you first, my citizens. I'm sure you can see, we need this wall completed as soon as possible. Within days. I could not waste a single hour.

"However, while the wall is being built…we are left unprotected. My combots will return to full duty, scouring the skies for any signs of attack. In the meanwhile, limit your time outside and no one leave the city. For all our sakes, hopefully the wall will be completed soon.

"Again, do not panic. With my tech, we stand a chance of survival this time. We fought them away once, and now, we can fight them away again, and someday, the Deks will learn your people are not their prey." Dr. Nikolos took a deep breath. "Sleep in peace and hope, New Mobius. Thank you for listening. Goodnight."

The screen flickered off.

The hedgehogs sat in silence.

Sonic spun to face Uncle Sparks, an eyebrow raised.

Uncle Sparks stared at the screen, his eyes narrowed. He clenched his fists.

Jules sagged against the couch, letting out a huff of air. Aleena bowed her head.

"Well, I'm glad I'm spending the night in here," Grampa Chuck murmured, smiling. "Guess I'm a New Mobian for now, whether I want to be our not."

"Uncle Sparks?" Sonic climbed up to his feet. "Did _you_ see these Deks?"

Uncle Sparks still stared at the screen. "No. I did not." He turned to the rest of the family, and bade them a pained smile. "Well…as our Heartseat said…sleep in peace and hope…I better return to my post at once. Under the circumstances, everyone must return to full duty." He gave them a short bow, then strode out of the room.

"Goodnight and farewell, Sparks!" Jules called

"Have a good sleep!" Grampa Chuck grinned.

"You tell those combots who's boss, Uncle Sparks!" Sonic hollered.

"Be careful out there!" Aleena ordered.

Sparks reached the apartment door and paused. He listened to their voices, allowing himself a brief smile. He turned the door knob.

The hedgehog stepped out into the night on the apartment balcony. The stars greeted him and gust of wind whipped through his cape and head spikes.

Uncle Sparks breathed in the cool air, then lifted his head. He squinted, studying the multi-colored stars strewn across the inky space. Electricity shot through his wrists and finger tips, cracking in the dark…

Nothing.

He jerked his cape back behind him and began to climb down the apartment ladder as fast as he could.


End file.
